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From Save Our Schools Hawaii
Welcome
We are concerned Hawaii community members, students, and parents for quality public education. We all agree that it's time to Save Our Schools. Enough is enough: the state budget cannot be balanced on the backs of our teachers and students.
Get the Facts Forum in Support of Education and Human Services
Remember ... YOUR presence == PRESSURE! And our pressure has sparked a flurry of legislative activity, with numerous bills for education. Let's make sure they get it done.
Hear from leading economists about the wisdom of current state budget policy. And APPEAL to save essential services in Hawaii.
Where: State Capitol, auditorium chamber level
When: Wednesday March 10,2010 10am-11am
Why: To call for a change of course in our state leadership before it's too late. Please come to support public education and essential human services.
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1000 Voices Allowed to Stay!
Victory! Student posters about furlough Fridays on display at the state Capitol won't have to come down after all. Read the Advertiser story State relents says 1000 Voices display at Hawaii Capitol will remain
Response to Breaking News
SOS Hawaii is pleased that the Office of the Governor and the State Comptroller are no longer pursuing removal of the children's artwork and other written expressions from the walls of the Capitol. We hope that Hawaii residents will go to see the "1000 Student Voices" display to judge for themselves whether such a fuss was necessary. The exhibit will run until Feb. 26th. Submissions are still being accepted at www.sos808.org....
Read the entire press release here
1000 Student Voices Silenced at State Capitol
January 28, 2010
One week after unveiling the "1000 Student Voices about Education" exhibit at the State Capitol, Save Our Schools Hawaii was today ordered by the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) to remove the exhibit....
Censorship dispute opens up at Capitol Star Bulletin Story
Anti-furlough art ordered off Capitol walls Video interview in Advertiser
Read the entire press release here
Television Ads
January 26, 2010
Tell Governor Lingle how you feel about furlough Fridays! SOS Hawaii, in partnership with Voice For Learning has sponsored two television ads to run this week. Why Lingle? She's the one person who can actually do something to end furloughs herself.
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Furlough Friday #9
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WHAT: Cookies for Classrooms: A bake sale for education
DATE: January 29, 2010
TIME: 9-11am
PLACE: State Capitol Rotunda
Save Our Schools Hawaii will be partnering with HEM this Friday to rally at the Capitol in protest of the 9th furlough Friday.
- Make YOUR voice heard nationally and locally.
- Let YOUR Legislator know how YOU feel.
- Increase media attention during a very important political week (the National Republican Committee meeting in Waikiki).
- Let the Governor/HSTA/BOE know that this situation is still UNACCEPTABLE!
Keiki are invited to listen to stories read by Wally Amos and help deliver cookies to the Governor. Please see www.hawaiieducationmatters.org for more information. While you're there, please visit the 1000 Student Voices exhibit at the State Capitol, chamber level.
1000 Student Voices Campaign
SOS Hawaii is highlighting student voices on Hawaii's furlough Friday crisis.
| 1000 Student Voices Exhibit
On Display at the State Capitol (Chamber level), until Feb. 26 |
 Download Poster |
Wednesday Dec. 20
The 1000 Student Voices briefing took place at the Capitol on opening day. SOS Hawaii presented art, videos and kid testimonies to legislators, staff and the public. Many concerned citizens were riveted to the presentation.
See TV coverage on KHON2
Add your voice HERE
Hear all the voices HERE
See more 1000 Voices videos on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sos808DOTorg
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 Download Poster |
December 3, 2009
Calling all students! SOS wants to know what you think about furlough fridays... Do they help you learn? We are gathering as many voices as we can to highlight student voices and present them to our government leaders. Add your voice to the "1000 Student Voices About Furlough Fridays" campaign! See some examples here. Read the entire press release here.
Furlough Friday #6
DATE: December 11, 2009
TIME: 9-11 a.m.
PLACE: Manoa Valley Community Center, Recreation Room (free parking available in the lot)
This Friday is the sixth Furlough Friday for Hawaii's keiki. Hawaii students now spend less time in class than the students in any other state. This situation is intolerable; yet without leadership and courage nothing is going to change.
As part of its 1000 Student Voices campaign, Save Our Schools Hawai‘i is hosting a KidsArt/AdultsTalkStory party to mark Furlough Friday # 6. Please join us in honoring our children’s desire to learn and their right to a public education by expressing your opinions through art, by joining a community of engaged and active parents and friends, and learning more about what you can do to end furlough Fridays and improve public education.
As the children create art (from drawings, paintings, songs, poetry, video) to express how they feel about furlough Fridays, the adults will have a facilitated dialogue about the state of public education in Hawai‘i, now and in the future.
Please come out to show your support for keiki, teachers and schools.
1000 Voices: Create to Celebrate
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In the spirit of the holiday season, Save Our Schools Hawai'i, is encouraging parents and to create "Student Voices" art and wreaths from recycled materials. Students will be invited to creatively express how they feel about public school education and the furlough situation, and what the future of their education means to them.
Come to a public art and craft making event on Friday Dec. 4 (the fifth Furlough Friday) at The Arts at Marks Garage, 1159 Nuuanu Ave. Families, community members, and vendors will display the wreaths this month and into January in support of the youth-centered dialogue.
Host a Create to Celebrate Party! Here's how to make your own creations. See submitted creations here.
Recent Furlough Friday News
November 2009
U.S. Asst. Sec of Education visits Hawaii and comments on furlough crisis
HSTA Concerns over governor's plan
House agrees to special session
Feeding Homeless Kids on Furlough Friday
On the fourth "Furlough Friday", S.O.S. Hawaii will organize a community service project to bring food and other essentials to homeless children and their families. For the 1700+ homeless children in Hawaii's public schools, Furlough Friday means that they will miss breakfast and lunch, meals which are normally provided at school through the free lunch program. In addition to meeting educational needs, schools are a safe haven for children experiencing homelessness.
School closures, on Furlough Fridays and other days, mean that most homeless children will be without structured, stimulating, and healthy places to go. S.O.S. Hawaii, in partnership with Hawaii Education Matters,and the School and University Partnership for Educational Renewal in Mathematics (SUPER-M) will provide lunches, books, toys, and basic hygiene items to families experiencing homelessness in the Kakaako Park and Ala Moana area on Friday Nov. 18, from 10am - 1pm.
For more information, contact Terri LaCoursiere Zucchero.
Children's Voices Wreath Project
Gather your ribbons and recycled materials: bottle caps, toilet paper tubes, old magazines, etc.! And get in the spirit by making a CHILDREN'S VOICES WREATH for your door this upcoming holiday season! Show that you care about Hawaii's keiki and the future of their education Take time with your child to make something together and talk about what matters Express your ideas about supporting charter school and public education with YOUR personal message on the wreath! If you're inspired, take a pic and attach it here or email to us at S.O.S.! We'll gather the pictures of the art to let the legislature, board of education, and governor know that we are watching and anticipating a win-win resolution for all.
If you're really really inspired: Submit your 'ohana's Children's Voices Wreath to Honolulu Hale by Nov. 30 for their wreath contest.
In the spirit of Kokua Hawaii Foundation and Kanu Hawaii Simplify the Holidays Campaign, here are also some ways to make the upcoming holidays a lot easier.
Have a great time! Mahalo nui loa for making our children's voice count! Your dedication and commitment is paying off!
